Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Guess what we did last night? I didn't know until we had everything spread out on the counter that SD had never carved a pumpkin before! Ella knew we were doing something to our pumpkins, but she wasn't quite sure what.

This is the face we got when we asked her to put her arm in the pumpkin guts. It was a no!

Daddy was a trooper. He cut the lids and scooped out all of the guts. I drew a face on one pumpkin and an "F" on the other and we each took one and got to work.

See the concentration on his face?

This is what we were left with. Guts, seeds, an "F" and a few matches.

But didn't they turn out pretty? Ella pretty much refused to take a decent picture with the pumpkins and since she wouldn't be still she's out of focus in every one I snapped. Frustrating!

Either way, we had lots of fun and have two beautiful pumpkins to show for our hard work. I had every intention of putting them on the porch and lighting them at night, but we enjoyed watching them last night, so I'm thinking we'll just keep them in the living room instead.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I wonder why it's always Tuesday when I decide to post a random, rambling list of disjointed thoughts?

I'm sorry my posting is so sporadic these days... I'm busy sleeping and eating and naming babies and all. I'm in the process of uploading 58 pictures to share with you and with Halloween coming up, I'm going to have approximately nine times that many pictures by Saturday. Not to mention the two birthday parties we're going to and dress-up night at dance this week. Bloggy goodness, I tell you.

Thanks for all of your sweet comments both here and on Facebook, as well as endless emails congratulating us, complementing my belly and praying for us. We so appreciate them all. This pregnancy is going so well and I know that all of the prayers lifted up on our behalf are certainly helping. I felt the baby fluttering around on Sunday and again for awhile yesterday. I haven't been still long enough today. I know it's early, but I promise it isn't gas {sorry, mom}! It has been so comforting to feel this baby moving. On top of the endless nausea and numerous food aversions, these moments remind me that our baby is in there and growing stronger every day. We officially have names picked out, although I'll probably wait to share them once we know what we're having. I can't wait to see who guessed correctly.

We'll chat soon... in the meantime, here is a photo that has absolutely nothing to do with this post except that it, too, is random. How stinking adorable is this girl and her outfit? It came from Janie & Jack last year and I'm kicking myself for not buying up a size, as well. I'm going to be sad when it gets retired.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Monday, October 19, 2009

On Saturday, I went with two of my favorite kids and my oldest friend in the world to Old Baker's Farm for an afternoon photoshoot and lots of farm fun! K usually has her fall photoshoots the weekend of the Cotton Pickin' Festival, but due to some wedding fun, she had to have it a week early.

Ryan and I were worried the little ones wouldn't survive an afternoon without a nap, but we were pleasantly surprised. The kids were so excited to see each other and couldn't keep their hands to themselves. We were smart enough to hitch a ride on the hay-filled tractor-pulled-trailer on its way to the pumpkin patch a quarter of a mile a way. We were even smarter to do it right when we got there. Later in the day the line was inching back to the gate and we were glad to be moving on to other activities.

They were so funny in the patch and we couldn't help but laugh at them. If they tripped over a pumpkin vine and had to be wiped down with baby wipes once, it was at least a hundred times. We tried to get them to carry their own pumpkins, but that proved to be futile. Let me paint a picture for you... two pregnant girls, in high-heeled boots {fashion is ALWAYS important}, chasing three year olds, carrying diaper bags and two pumpkins each. Let me just say that you are going to be more than pleased that K caught this all on film. I cannot wait to see those pictures. We were laughing so hard we had to take a break and sit down on our pumpkins for a minute. Our kids failed to see the humor in this adventure.

We headed over to the barn to pet some animals. There was a very sweet baby goat, some pigs, lambs and an over-zealous donkey, but the bunny rabbit proved to be Grey and Ella's favorite. We went back for seconds!

After petting animals, picking out pumpkins, climbing hay bales and running around like crazies, these two needed a "tasty treat" break. Luckily, Ms. Ryan had some cash on her, because mommy was just plain out! We got these rice crispy treats and capri suns and then realized that we were being seriously gipped. Ryan ran back and got us our on coke and crispy treat!

We, of course, had to take a turn on the mini-tractors that we had seen being driven all over the farm. Unfortunately, Grey and Ella couldn't quite reach the pedals. We ended up pushing them all around while K laughed at us some more.

Finally, we made it to the corn rows which proved to be their absolute favorite. In fact, when Ella and I were recapping the day for SD and we asked what the best part of the day was she answered, "getting lost in the corn!" That's right, folks, LOST. Did I mention they cut a maze in the corn field? It was so much fun watching them run around, but we couldn't get out?! We were exhausted {the mommies, not the littles} by this point and tired of chasing silly, muddy children who thought the rows between corn was part of the maze. We ducked out of the side of the field and pretended to find our way out.

This is probably my favorite picture of the day. They are SO cute together. Even though they don't get to spend a lot of time together, they are so funny when they have a chance to play. All day, Grey would come up behind Ella and just nuzzle her. It was so funny to see her reaction. They pretty much held hands all day. This sweet one is right before Ella threw him off her back!

We couldn't have had any more fun had the festival been this weekend and it was fun spending the day with our best friends. The rest of my pictures are here and I'll be sure to share the fabulous ones that K took as soon as I can. Make sure you head out to the pumpkin patch soon, you don't have much time and you won't be disappointed!

FYI -- Belly Update, Week 14 will be a few days late. K had the nerve to go on location this week :).

Friday, October 16, 2009

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Josh is making fun of me as we speak for posting this picture... I think it's funny. Obviously this isn't accurate, it isn't science-based, it isn't an ultrasound. It amounts to not much more than a Chinese calendar or an experiment with Drano in the bathroom. BUT, it makes for a good conversation. Even if that conversation cost me $30.

This doesn't prove anything, but it will be interesting to see what happens. I still don't have a feeling one way or another and I won't tell you what Josh thinks. We'll just have to wait and see.

How cute is this girl in her new collar? I told you I was saving my favorite fall find for another day. I got the collar here at Elisa Lou Designs. She has lots of great items, but I couldn't resist her dog collars. She ran a special during September when you ordered a collar in any fabric, she threw in a Halloween one for free. We can't wait to wear our flowery, girly collar, but at least until the end of the month we'll be sporting this one instead.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

If you have small kids you'll know where that title came from. I've been hearing Zee sing, "It feels like I'm falling for fall" for days now. We watch way too much Nick Jr. around here.

Despite the fact that I felt pretty terrible most of the weekend, I did get around to cleaning my house and I didn't stop there. I told Garan several weeks ago that I have virtually no fall decorations and she inspired me to be creative. I normally wouldn't need somebody to tell me that, but this pregnancy is really sapping my creative juices! I'm not generally a fan of Halloween decorations because I want whatever I do to last through Thanksgiving and I didn't want anything that looked too crafty or homespun. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a grapevine wreath and like every other blogger in America I bought a buggy full of fall picks to jam into it. I used the leftovers to accent what few things I had and then pulled a few other things out of thin air.

I still need to work on my porch and front stairs, but I'm pretty happy with how the living area turned out. Here are our favorite fall vignettes...

This is the centerpiece on my dining room table. I used burlap, mums, a large pumpkin, some decorative gourds, gold beads and pine cones. I also used a lamp, vase and cross that I already had. YES, the hurricane on that lamp needs to be washed. I'm adding it to my to do list.

I didn't do too much to my buffet, just added a mum in a concrete planter, a stack of orange books and some fall colored accessories. I threw in some October issues of magazines in my stacks to add the right colors.

This is a pine box on a wrought iron stand next to the armchair in our living room. My mom gave me the jack-o-lantern for Ella's first Halloween and I added a few twigs of color, pine cones and acorns to my Southern Living Barley Twist Pedestal.

This is what we call the "kiddie" table in the living room, but in reality I eat here as much as Ella does. I made a new tablecloth out of brown and white giraffe print over the weekend because my mom accidentally shrunk the muslin one. I created a much smaller vignette here with a small pumpkin, pine cones, burlap, orange m&ms and a small orange frame. The leaf in the frame is silk, but you can't even tell!

And finally the wreath that started it all. I bought an oval instead of a round one because our front door is skinny. I had planned to hang it outside, but after hanging it here to make it I couldn't bear to relocate it! It looks so good with our orange walls and matchstick blinds. I'll have to work some other magic outside.

I forgot to take a picture of my favorite fall decoration. I'll be sure to share it tomorrow!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

On Sunday afternoon Ella and I went to our favorite little boy's first birthday celebration. It is hard to believe that Alston is a year old! His sweet mommy threw a wonderful backyard picnic complete with homemade chili and grilled cheese sandwiches. I wish I had gotten a picture of the caterpillar cake she made, it was adorable. Thanks, Mrs. Beth, for letting us celebrate the day with you.

Monday, October 12, 2009

So... Amanda at My Nashville Nest nominated me for this award on October 2nd. In case you haven't noticed, it's the 12th. I'm ten days late for saying thank you and telling you all to visit her precious blog. She and her husband got married in Italy and her pictures are beautiful. She's a Montessori teacher and an adorable one at that. Please visit her today and give her a little blog love.

In order to accept this award, I am to thank the person who nominated me {check}, post the logo here on my blog {check}, list seven things about me that you may not know {forthcoming} and nominate and link seven blogs worthy of receiving the Kreativ Blogger Award. Um... because I'm pregnant {isn't that a great excuse reason}, I'm going to hold off on that last part. I read so many blogs that I'm having trouble thinking about which seven I would nominate. That and I'm only running on about 50% of my brain cells. Amanda, do you forgive me?

Okay, seven things about me. I know I've probably shared all of these. Not many interesting things happen to me. Sorry.

The first time I got on a plane I was 14 years old. We were en route to London, but our pilot had a heart attack and we got rerouted to Newfoundland, Canada. p.s. It's cold in Canada. Even in June.

I hiked the Grand Canyon from rim to rim in a single day. It's almost 20 miles. Don't think I'm brave, I whined like a baby and Josh carried my pack out. He still married me, so he must not have been too irritated.

I was an art student in college; traditional printmaking to be exact. Did I mention that I'm a litigation paralegal now? I loved going to art school even if I didn't pursue it as a career.

I know you know we have a big silver dog named Beemer... wanna know how she came to be? I had never had a dog before and Josh wanted an inside one. I decided I wanted weim after working at the Birmingham Museum of Art during a William Wegman exhibit. She came from Tupelo, MS. We named her Beemer because I always said I wanted a silver BMW - Josh said this was the only one we could afford. I rescued her from the crate the very first night and she's been sleeping in our bed for six years.

I've been in several many car accidents. The first one was when I was fourteen and my boyfriend got sideswiped by a transfer truck. We didn't call our parents because we knew they would make us come home. Instead, we put the side-view mirror in the trunk and kept on trucking.

My favorite food is homemade Macaroni and Cheese, especially mine. I'd eat it everyday if I thought I could and still be skinny.

I was a total hippie-chick in high school. People seem to find that hard to imagine. I had Chuck Taylor's in every color, I bought most of my clothes at the thrift store, I wore birkenstocks and Doc Marten's and listened to the Grateful Dead. It's amazing Josh ever looked twice :).

Monday, October 5, 2009

When I was pregnant with Ella, K had just started her photography career. We took photographs of my belly once a month and they are so cute. Despite how good she was then, K's talent has only grown and today her photographs are amazing. I am SO blessed to have a sister who is willing to take pictures at 7:30 on a Monday night and edit them while I wait impatiently and ask her to make my neck and chin look as skinny as possible {do you think that's funny, mom?}.

I decided several weeks ago that I wanted to do the same thing for this pregnancy, but since I'm living in the age of the blog, I thought I'd modify the concept slightly. We decided to do weekly sessions to chart how different my belly will look each week. Eventually you might get a bare belly shot, but we'll wait on things to get a little rounder! Today's belly looks MUCH better under clothes.

I hope you'll enjoy the weekly post, as well as the hilarious outtakes that will be appearing over at K's blog each week. I saw them tonight and they are definitely worth your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!